What exactly is Philosophy?

I was reading an online research profile yesterday, of Dale Dorsey from the Department of Philosophy. This reminded me of what I thought of philosophy before I took my first class in it. All that really came to mind was the "Thinker" statue.

In my second semester of freshman year I needed to take a Humanities credit, and heard that Philosophy could be interesting, and that's when I realized that there was a lot more to philosophy than I had thought. But to explain it to you, I decided to go straight to a Philosophy major to find out how she would sum it up. Sarah Colpitts, who now works in the Registrar's Office, graduated last year with a degree in Philosophy.

"I took a Philosophy course as an elective in my second year and fell in love with it, so I decided to major in it! The fascinating thing about Philosophy is that it spans across so many disciplines - from Science, to Ethics, to Game Theory. Some of my favorite classes were ones that looked at contemporary issues such as the global poor, environmental ethics, civic education, and how and why humans make the choices and decisions we do.

An Arts degree is all about the skills you take away and bring into every day life. Philosophy teaches you how to take apart ideas and analyze how they work; you learn how to think, how to critically engage with the world. I was taught how to develop and analyze my own arguments and express my own ideas, and because of that I am a better writer, reader, and learner - all skills that employers
value and desire."

And there you have it! For more information on Philosophy, check out the Philosophy major page, or the department website!

"What can I do with an Arts degree?"

This is the single most highly-asked question I get. Or, "what can my kid do with an Arts degree?"

To help you (and your parents!) explore this question, our new Career Development Officer, Amber, put together a comprehensive career site geared towards future and current arts students. On it, you'll find alumni career profiles, the "Arts Career Network E-Newsletter" , events and services that are happening on campus, and of course a forum to explore different majors and minors, and what kind of career prospects they offer!

So if you're still deciding on a major, or just want to check out your career options, make sure to drop by the Arts Careers website to explore your options and even be inspired!

Registration help

I know that the registration process can be confusing, and even daunting at times, so I'm going to be answering your questions on this blog. If you have a question, just post a comment, and I'll blog the answer, because many others are often asking the same thing! Today's question is:

I have my classes picked out, but there are so many different sections of each, I don't know where to start. How am I supposed to construct a schedule?!

The Students' Union offers a handy tool to help you envision and choose your schedule. It's called Bear Scat (not to be confused with Bear Tracks). On Bear Scat, you can pick out all of your courses with a colour-coated scheduler tool, and then you can play around with where your courses sit.

Don't forget to think about lifestyle. Are you a morning person? A night person? Do you want to consider doing a night course to free up some of your weekdays? When I was a student, I lucked out most semesters, not starting any of my courses until after 11 am. It worked for me. Figure out what works for you, and then design your schedule are that!

One thing to remember about Bear Scat - it doesn't actually register you in the courses you pick out, so when you're done with it, head over to Bear Tracks to make everything official!

HUB Mall

Mall Walk, originally uploaded by Ingeneering.

You'll probably spend a lot of time here, you might even live here at some point! HUB mall holds 50 shops and services, various student lounges, and almost 1000 students in residence! HUB residences are apartment-style, so you can make your own food (or of course, buy it on the first floor!) It's usually an option students choose after their first year, as dorm-style residences, like Lister Residence, are a lot of fun, not to mention convenient! Click here to learn more about our many student housing options!

Student funding update from the Students' Union

Students Commend Measures Taken by Provincial Government

The Government of Alberta announced changes to the Alberta Student Financial Aid system for the upcoming academic year that will make it easier for many students to attend university and college in September.

"These are some fantastic changes that we've been looking for the government to implement for some time," said Steven Dollansky, University of Alberta Students' Union Vice President (External). "This is a significant step and we are looking forward to continuing our work with the government to improve the accessibility and affordability of higher education."

Among the changes are:

• A 2.5% cut in interest rates on student loans;
• Increasing the part time earning exemptions to $800;
• Eliminating scholarship restrictions on loan calculations; and
• Increasing living allowances by 5%.

"Despite these changes, we still need to do more to ensure students are not unnecessarily burdened by debt upon graduation. We hope to continue with progress on making our post secondary system more affordable and improving the quality of the education in Alberta in the coming year," concluded Dollansky.

Money matters: some helpful hints on paying for school

There are many different ways to help you pay for your education. A few of them include:

• Summer jobs, part-time jobs during the school year
• Savings
• The BMD (Bank of Mom and Dad)
• Scholarships
• Provincial and Federal Student Loans
• Student Lines of Credit

Luckily, there is a place on campus that has all the information you need in one spot. SFAIC (a.k.a. Student Financial Aid Information Centre) has all the information you need to know about paying for school, like what the difference is between a "student loan" and "student line of credit." They have a pretty handy website as well!

Services at SFAIC include:

• Drop-in service during regular office hours
• Loans information and applications for all provinces
• Free courier service to Alberta Student Finance
• Guidance regarding all aspects of the Government Student Loan program from your first application straight through to repayment
• One-on-one counseling sessions for students in complex situations and advocacy for difficult loan related issues
• Access Fund and Emergency Student Loans programs
• Budgeting information

So, in these next few months as you plan for your first year of university, make sure to check out the SFAIC website to get all the information you need before you decide which route you're going to go!

We have a spot left for you!

50 minutes at a time, originally uploaded by I, Timmy.

There is officially less than 2 days until our application deadline, May 1st! If you've been putting off applying, or you're just now deciding that the U of A is the right place for you, visit the "RO" (Registrar's Office) website to make your decision complete!

Facebook group for class of 2012 (that's you!)

Are you looking to meet some of your fellow upcoming freshman classmates? I was browsing through a few U of A Facebook groups, and found this one - U of A Class of 2012 - which was started by some students a few weeks ago.

I would join it myself, except that I am no longer a freshman (or a student for that matter). "Back in my day" (it seems like not long ago, but it has been eight years since I've graduated high school!) we didn't have social networking as an option to "pre-meet" our classmates. Take advantage of it!

There are also hundreds of other U of A student interest groups, so do some surfing and you may find a unique community you want to join! Ciao!

Spring on campus!

Earth Sciences Building, originally uploaded by Battling Apathy.

Okay, so there's still a little bit of snow on campus right now; it's been a wierd year weather-wise. I'm confident that campus will soon look like this though! It's supposed to get up to 11 degrees (Celcius) on Sunday, and then it should only go up from there!

This building in this photo is the Earth Sciences Building. On campus, you'll find it just up Sasketchewan Drive from the Humanities Building (where many of your classes will be).

The true test of spring however, is what students are wearing. I'm already seeing some sandals around campus. Once it gets over five degrees, we'll be seeing shorts and teeshirts!

Human Rights Speaker Comes to Campus

Mary Robinson with University of Alberta students, originally uploaded by TheElders.

The U of A often brings national and international speakers onto campus to talk about a wide variety of topics. This year, for the tenth annual University of Alberta Visiting Lectureship in Human Rights, Mary Robinson spoke to the "Every Human Has Rights" campaign on April 2. The Visiting Lectureship in Human Rights was inaugurated in 1998 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to provide a means to further learn about and discuss human rights issues.

If you would like to get involved with human rights advocacy on campus, there are a number of student groups you may be interested in, such as Amnesty International, UNICEF, Make Poverty History, Organisation for Peace and Security Studies, Stand for Darfur, Students Against Global Apathy, and World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

Looking for something to do?

The Academic Support Centre at the U of A is now in its second year of offering "T2U" to incoming freshman students. T2U - Transition to University - is an online workshop series, which modules ranging study tips, to getting around campus, to how to deal with roommates, and more. By signing up for T2U, you will automatically get entered into a tuition draw for $500!

Here's what some students have to say about T2U:

"T2U is one of the greatest ideas ever. Using it in the summer allowed me to get familiar with everything that would be happening come first semester. By the time school started, I already felt very comfortable with the whole concept of university thanks to T2U."

"Thank you SOOO much for setting this up! By the first day of school, I was already feeling comfortable because I had learned a tonne from T2U. It's nice to be informed about everything U of A-related BEFORE getting there and having to figure it all out by yourself."

You can find out more information, or sign up for T2U here.

Cortona - Study Abroad!

Cortona, originally uploaded by Paula Solanoy.

If you've been to a U of A recruitment event in the this year, you would have heard mention of the Faculty of Arts campus in Cortona, Italy!

Each Winter term, students from all disciplines and universities travel to Cortona, Italy and enrol in Arts courses that take advantage of this unique Tuscan location.

U of A professors conduct regular classroom lectures (in English) on diverse topics like Renaissance Art, Roman Civilization, Archaeology and Social History, Italian-based literature and introductory Italian courses. Instead of studying it in a textbook, students actually travel to see Michelangelo's David. Instead of learning Italian in a lab, the students live it!

I wish this had been around when I was a student!!

Visit the Cortona website or blog for more information!

RATT (Room at the Top)

Clouds over the UoA campus, taken from the RAT on the top floor of the SUB, originally uploaded by Hexe75.

I just found this photo on Flickr. It's taken from RATT (Room at the Top), where I'll be having dinner tonight! RATT is located on the top floor of the (SUB) Students' Union Building, and is run by the Students' Union. My favorite dish? The poutine!

Registering for classes - it gets easier!

Although it may seem like a daunting task at first, just think of registering for classes as an adventure - a choose-your-own-adventure! It may take a bit of time figuring things out this year, but by the time second year registration roles around, you'll feel like a pro!

The first time I registered for university classes, I changed my mind so many times that I had to resubmit paper forms more than 10 times! Luckily, the registration process has improved since then - now you can search for, add, and delete classes as many times as you would like online, before the add/drop deadline in the fall!

You've probably already heard about the online system, Bear Tracks, used by the U of A for just about everything. This is how you'll sign up for classes. Bear Tracks is pretty intuitive, but check out the user guide anytime you're unsure about a certain process.

Registration Tip #1: Get to know Bear Tracks! If you haven't yet received your CCID (campus computing I.D.), you can log in as a guest to get familiar with the system before you choose your classes.

I will see some of you at the Registration 101 Workshop on campus tonight!